Some Airbnb hosts aren’t getting the NFL Draft payday they expected

Airbnb host Matthew Bassuener owns a shrine to football in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

His unassuming ranch-style home — a 10-minute walk from Lambeau Field, home of the NFL’s Packers — is decorated with an oversized mural of a vintage football game and memorabilia from Bassuener’s own time as an Arena Football player.

When the NFL announced its annual draft would be in Green Bay, Bassuener was ecstatic. After reviewing projections from tools Airbnb hosts use to determine pricing, he listed his three-bedroom, two-bathroom Airbnb for $5,000 a night for the three-day event. A group booked it last July. For a typical Packers game, Bassuener will get around $1,200 a night.

In January, though, the group canceled, getting a full refund. Bassuener slowly slashed his rates until a new group booked at $2,250 for the whole weekend.

“It was definitely painful,” Bassuener told Business Insider. “There are other hosts scrambling to get what they wanted.”

On April 24, the NFL Draft kicks off in Green Bay, with an estimated 250,000 visitors descending on the city, according to ESPN. Some Airbnb hosts told Business Insider they had to adjust their initial sky-high expectations and cut nightly rates significantly to get bookings.

Hosts overall, though, are still seeing bigger-than-normal payouts. Airbnb and Vrbo hosts in Green Bay are projected to see an 846% increase in revenue compared to the same period in 2024, according to early data from short-term-rental analytics site AirDNA. Hosts told BI they just hoped their personal gains would be even bigger.

Short-term rental hosts often capitalize on major local sporting events and concerts, raising prices around the dates when more travelers are coming to town. Just ask the residents of Augusta, Georgia, who annually rent out their homes for Master’s week, with some making enough during the annual golf tournament to pay for family vacations or cover their mortgage for the year.

The widespread use of online short-term rental booking platforms like Airbnb has created pop-up markets for big-dollar bookings. In 2023, the first leg of Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour brought in more than $27 million for Airbnbs and Vrbos in the US, according to AirDNA.

Ahead of Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour, which kicks off next week, searches for Airbnbs in stops Houston and Atlanta went up by 620% and 400%, respectively, Airbnb told Axios in March.

Pinning hopes of profit to big events doesn’t always pay off. Ahead of the 2023 Super Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona, some hosts were disappointed by demand and slashed prices. The city had recently experienced a surge in supply, with 21,000 Airbnbs and Vrbos opening.

Other Green Bay hosts have had to adjust their expectations

Green Bay native Nikki Engelbrecht owns two Airbnbs just outside the stadium: a five-bedroom she initially listed for $6,000 a night, and a three-bedroom she initially listed at $4,000 a night. They ended up booking at $2,500 and $650 a night, respectively.

Engelbrecht blamed the fickle nature of short-term rentals in Green Bay for the disconnect. For an off-season weekend, her rentals’ rates will hover around $250 a night, but shoot up to $2,000 a night for a premier game.

“I think everybody just got really excited and thought, because it’s the draft, they could charge $10,000,” she told BI.

Michael Friedman, CEO Simple Life Rentals, which oversees 150 short-term units across Wisconsin, said one of its homes directly across from Lambeau Field rented at $3,200 a night for the whole draft after it was initially listed for $7,500.

Though he was disappointed, Friedman said he is still holding out hope. Because the NFL Draft is free, unlike a typical Packers game, some area fans from nearby cities like Detroit and Chicago might be keeping an eye on nightly rates to make a spontaneous trip, he added.

“I’ve talked to some people who said they’re still waiting to see if the weather will be decent,” Friedman said. “We’re still hoping to get some bookings last minute.”

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